Vertical axis circular swing



1951 J. PSAILA VERTICAL AXIS CIRCULAR SWING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 10, 1949 .tll l I I INVENTORQ John 7%"al lcz Oct. 9, 1951 PSMLA' 2,570,981

VERTICAL AXIS CIRCULAR SWING Filed Jan. 10, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTQR. 72 7 70 72 \fofin %al/ Z Patented Oct. 9, 1951 UNITED STATES-PATENT OFFICE 2,570,981 VERTICAL AXIS CIRCULAR SWING John Psaila, Los Angeles, Calif. Application January 10, 1949, Serial No. 70,097

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to amusement apparatus of the type generally known as an aerial merry-go-round, usually found in public amusement places, such as parks, fairs and carnivals, and it is to be noted that points of novelty present in the invention, are also applicable in the construction of childrens toys, made in sub stantial simulation thereof.

An object of the invention is to provide means in the construction, adding to flexibility of presently accepted standard supports for a car or passenger vehicle, to the end that a patrons ride may be made to have a degree of thrill, greater than that of merely riding through a circular course of ascending and descending value, and which flexibility in the supporting means may be utilized by a patron upon manipulation of certain standard controls present in the vehicle.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby greater response to developed centrifugal force is obtained to the end that the vehicles or cars of the apparatus, including the occupants thereof, will climb more rapidly to a circular plane of maximum elevation upon the application of rotative effort thereto, and conversely thereof, to return to the loading point more rapidly upon cutting off rotative effort, to the end that a total speed up of operation is obtained, which fact operates to the edification of the patrons and to the financial advantage of the operator of the apparatus.

A further object of the invention is to provide means comprising the provision of counter-balancing weights so connected to the apparatus as to develop an increased mechanical advantage or leverage action upon outward movement of passenger cars or airplanes, which tends to offset the combined weight of the airplanes with appurtenances thereof and the weight of riders to the end that a definite saving of propelling power is effected in the operation of the apparatus.

' A still furtherv object of the invention is to provide an amusement apparatus which is mechanically simple, which is reliable in operation, sturdy in-construction, and which is of relative low cost.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention may be noted from a study of the acccmpanying drawing, the detailed description and the subjoined claim.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a utility View showing an amusement apparatus of the aerial merry-go-round type, in which the features of novelty of the invention are incorporated; and

Figure 2 is a view partially in section showing otherwise hidden detail of construction.

The amusement apparatus in which the features of novelty of this invention are incorporated, comprises a hollow central tower It which is bolted or otherwise secured to a foundation l2. Adjacent the upper end of the tower ill I place an annular track I l which is preferably made of channel iron and which is supported upon radial arms l6 which are secured to the tower at their inner end and which are supported upon angular braces l8 which may be welded to the tower substantially as shown in the drawing.

Within the tower I0 I place a revolvable shaft 20 which is centered within and supported by a suitable bearing 22, while upwardly therefrom I place another bearing 25 which is also adapted to center and steady the shaft 2%). Adjacent the upper end of the shaft 20 and exteriorly of the tower Hi I place a plural number of radially disposed arms 26 which are formed with substantially horizontally disposed rails 28 and vertically disposed stiles 3B and with a compression member 32 to imp-art strength thereto.

The upper and lower ends of the stiles 39 extend outwardly from the rails 28 to form trunnions 34 and 36, and of these trunnions, trunnion 34 rests within a companion recess 34a formed in a flange 3B welded or otherwise secured to the shaft 2-3, while the trunnion 35 lies nested within a companion recess 35a formed in a capping 40 upon the extreme upper end of the shaft 20.

Ihe lower rails 28" have wheels 42 journalled thereon, and which are adapted to roll within an annular track M in their partial support of the radial arms 23. Each of the lower rails 28 is provided'with a pendent tubular arm 44 in hinged relationship thereto by means of a yoke Ma, and each of the tubular arms 44 is provided with a fore-shortened extension 46 which is hinged at 38 thereto. The otherwise free end of the extension .6 is attached to the horizontal mid-portion 58 of an inverted U-shaped member 52, the legs 5 i of which are adapted to be connected to an airplane-like car 56 which is adapted in conventional manner to provide seats for patrons.

With respect to the airplane cars 56. it is proposed that each of these be provided with an electric motor driven propeller 58, and with movable rudders 59 and elevators 6U, manipulation of which will provide a degree of personal control of the airplane concerned. Also, the motor driven propellers are intended to provide an alternative source of motive power for the apparatus as a whole, the prime source of power being a motor 82, stationed adjacent the base of the tower iii, which is provided with a gear 5 in mesh with a ring gear E55 secured upon the shaft 2d, so that upon rotation of the gear M, the gear tia and the shaft 25 including. the whole of the apparatus. is rotated therewith.

The circuit involved to carry energy to each of the motors used to drive a propeller 58, is quite simple, and could comprise a single lead H! extending from the motor circuit l2, through'a suitable opening i i in the side of thetower to. a base 16, a brush 7%, a slip ring 81 and an up wardly extending lead 82, which can be formed with branch leads 8% extending through suitable openings 84 in the upper end of the hollow shaft, and thence outwardly along each of. the radial arms 25 and then downwardly along the side of; or through the pendant-tubular arms 3 3; and 56 to the member 52, and thence to a motor (not shown) in each of the airplanes 56; The other lead to and from the motorcan'be'grounded to the frame of the apparatus.

Each of the radial arms 26' areprovided with suitable openings therein to receive grooved wheels Miami 92 and with a passageway 94 for a cable 96, the outer end of which issecurely attached to an arm 44 and which extends'upwardlyr and over the pulley wheels 88 and 92 and thence downwardly through the passageway. 94 to the interior of the tower where they are each attached to a common weight 97' which serves as a partial counter-balance for the weight. of the tubular arms 44 and it, and the airplane withits accessories, as well as the weight of the occu-. pantsof each of the airplanes 58.

Having thus described the structural detail of myrinvention, I will now describe the operation thereof ?as applied to anaerial merry-go-round.

Upon energizing the motor 62, the geartdwill rotategear .66. and the shaft 2E within the tower, and will carry the radial arms 26"and the airplanes 53, including intermediate structural elements therewith in acircular course around the tower. As the. speed of the afore-mentioned parts accelerates, the pendentarms itl and .the airplanes will swing. outwardly under centrifugal force in an ascending arc which fore-shortens.

.the distancebetween the eye Milandtheaxial centerof the grooved wheel 99, so that the inner. end 93a of the cable is drawn downwardly within the tower by means of the weight 9'? attached thereto. This inward movementof the cable is not just a mere retraction to take-up slackness created bythe fore-short ning of the lengthof cable when in the dotted line position shown in. Figure. 1 as compared with the full line position. thereof, butis. also expressive of the gravitational pull of the mass of the weight filwhich operates at all time 'to lift the airplane and associated parts by swinging the pendant arm 44 around its hinged connection 44a upon the rail 28", and the further thearms M move from full pendency, the more effective the counterbalancing effect of the weight 91, and this fact is of great importance, for it occurs at a time or during an interval when more and more power is required to outwardly swing the airplanes to increasingly greater heights, thereby operating to save the input power required to lift an amount of weight represented by the mass 91 and the mechanical advantage thereof as represented by the change in position of the arm 44 in moving from full pendency to the horizontal, clearly a matter of the greatest importance. to; operators of this type of equipment.

During an intermediate period less than when in full horizontal position, the airplane 56 and the extension 463 are not apt to assume an out- .Warclposition in line with the arm 44, but may assume a more pendent position with respect to the:'arm*i':insome such degree as represented by the dotted lines 56a in Figure l, and this last mentioned position may be approached or attained in part by reason of working the control surfacestd and tfi afore-mentionecl, thereby imparting enhanced pleasure to the patron ofthe' apparatus.

Having thus described my inventionasapplied to an amusement apparatus of the character'described, that which I believe-to be novel and for which Letters Patent are sought; is:

In an amusement apparatus, a vertical; tubular column fixedly secured "to a base; a driven shaft centered in said column: a' recessedfiange' on said driven shaftanda "like recessed capping upon the free'endof" the .shaft;'and'radiararms; said radial arms having. trunnions on their inner ends for detachable socketingin' the re;-"' cesses in said flange and capp ing,'.a circular track located upon and exteriorly of said column in partial support of said radial arms, a plural number of passenger vehicles, a plural number. of pendent. tubular arms, said. pendent. arms being hingedly connected to said .vehicles and said radial arms for direct support of said.vehi'-' cles, sheaveson each of .saidarms, .a cable running over the sheaves. on each radial'arm and. having its one end so attached to a..pendent tubular arm as to lie in anacute-anglestosthe longitudinal axis thereofduring full, pendency. of. the related arm, andto a weightcentered. around said shaft and within said column .and. held aloft by the inner ends of all of thecables. running over said sheaves, and power.meansto. rotate the driven shaft within said column...

JOHN PSAILA;

REFERENCES CITED 7 The following. references are of record'inthe file of this patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date. 7

384,393 Sassack .June 12, .1888 966,135 Stein Aug; 2, 1910 982,128 Davison Jan. 17,1911.-

2,364,699' Eastman Dec. 12,1944

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 7 Gr t Britain Oct. 12,..1931- 

